Nomadic 911: Keep your employees safe at any location | #customersupport #supporticket

Highlights:

• With businesses moving toward hybrid work, pinpointing locations can be challenging for first responders as employees work from anywhere.
• Nomadic 911 allows IT admins to pre-define locations so that a precise location can be sent to emergency responders when users call 911 through RingCentral.
• Nomadic 911 also allows IT admins to provide the most current user location to a public safety answering point when users dial 911 through the RingCentral desktop app or Poly hardphones.
• Available to all US users.

With all that’s happened in recent years, it’s no surprise that safety is among the top concerns for businesses everywhere. From the uprooting of our office lives to major shifts in society, we’ve been through a lot, and we’ve persevered.

But work is still changing. Businesses are returning to their offices while giving employees more freedom to choose their own schedules. In fact, according to a study by PwC, 79% of leaders expect that a large chunk of their workforce will split their time between the office and home. This hybrid work arrangement is a big positive—but it’s not without challenges. 

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Namely, employees who work from anywhere can have a difficult time reaching emergency services. Most wireless calls don’t provide enough location information to dispatchers, which can leave employees (and businesses) vulnerable. When it comes to safety, you’ll want to keep workers protected.

That’s why it’s important for us to help keep you and your organization safe. Here’s where Nomadic 911 can help.

Nomadic 911

When the Nomadic 911 feature is enabled, the RingCentral app for desktop now supports automatic location updating for US users at pre-defined locations, either on the customer’s network or at up to 10 pre-defined off-net locations. The RingCentral Phone app and Poly VVX X50 hardphones also support this feature.

RingCentral’s Nomadic 911 feature helps first responders identify a caller’s location and route emergency personnel to the correct address. It also helps administrators manage emergency response situations for users regardless of where they’re located—an important consideration now that so many employees are using cloud-based phone systems while working remotely.

New FCC laws

Two recently passed federal laws require businesses to provide 911 dispatchers detailed location information.

• Kari’s Law requires direct 911 dialing (without the need to dial 9 for an outside line, for instance). It also requires notification capabilities in multi-line telephone systems (MLTS), typically found in enterprises such as office buildings, campuses, and hotels. Any 911 call on an MLTS system must be configured to notify facility personnel about that emergency call so that the office, school, or hotel staff can assist, as well. 
• RAY BAUM’s Act requires that a dispatchable location be transmitted with all 911 calls to dispatch centers, regardless of the technological platform used. “Dispatchable location” means the caller’s validated street address plus any additional information needed to pinpoint the caller’s location, which can include a suite or apartment number. This helps responders locate callers faster and minimizes delays that can happen if a call comes from a large office building.

How location detection works

Location detection works based on endpoints interacting with network infrastructure elements that have known locations—for example, Wi-Fi access points and IP address ranges. 

When a user connects to a new internet network, the RingCentral app will prompt them to enter their current location, such as the address of their home office. 

When they call on the RingCentral mobile app from within the corporate network, users must specify their emergency response location by selecting from a list predefined by an administrator. For callers in the middle of an emergency, this is an easy and convenient response.

Making your workplace safer

With the RingCentral app and the Nomadic 911 feature enabled, employees can safely work from anywhere knowing that first responders have their most up-to-date location wherever they are. It’s one of the many ways we strive to help you work smarter and more productively.